Erin Smith
Astoria, NY, United States
Erin Smith was diagnosed with celiac disease in the early 1980s, so she’s been eating gluten-free almost her entire life. Erin has a unique perspective of growing up in the gluten-free community and blogs about living — and enjoying — a gluten-free lifestyle.
Erin Smith has been writing her gluten-free lifestyle blog Gluten-Free Fun since 2007. In 2011, she launched Gluten-Free Globetrotter, a website that encourages those with celiac disease to travel the world and not be scared about eating gluten-free domestically and abroad. Erin is also the lead organizer of the NYC Celiac Disease Meetup group, a social community that has grown to over 1850 members in the 8 years she has been organizing the group.
http://glutenfreefun.blogspot.com
http://glutenfreeglobetrotter.comSee my complete profile

My sister, father, and mother are all on some kind of synthetic thyroid medication. Of those three, my sister also has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and we both suspect my dad might have it too although he denies it. I have my thyroid tested as part of my yearly physical and although I am slightly low, my doctor doesn't feel that I have a serious enough level to go onto medications. This is fine with me, since I would rather not have to take a pill every single day. I truly believe that my thyroid condition has been kept in check over the years with a very early diagnosis of Celiac Disease and treatment through a gluten-free diet for almost thirty years.

I read an interesting article today about the connection between Celiac Disease and Thyroid Disease that I wanted to share with my readers. The article also put together a table compairing Celiac, Hashimoto's, and Graves Disease.

Two of a Kind — Research Connects Celiac and Thyroid Diseases and Suggests a Gluten-Free Diet Benefits Both
By Cheryl Harris, MPH, RD, and Gary Kaplan, DOToday’s DietitianVol. 12 No. 11 P. 52

Nature doesn’t always play fairly. Anyone with an autoimmune condition is predisposed to developing other autoimmune conditions, and there is a particularly strong connection between celiac disease and autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD), which includes Hashimoto’s and Graves’ diseases. Despite this connection, routine cross-screening is rare.

Since these conditions frequently lead to significant changes in weight, RDs are in a prime position to spot common symptoms and provide clients with potentially lifesaving referrals for further testing and diagnosis. This article will review the overlapping symptoms, examine the current research on the relationship between these diseases, explore how a gluten-free diet affects both conditions, and describe the ways in which RDs can most effectively support their clients and patients. Understanding the connection between celiac disease and thyroid disease can help dietitians design strategies for appropriate dietary management and support.

1 Comments:

Anonymous said...

INTERESTING, I HAVE HASHIMOTOS DX FOR OVER 20 YEARS BUT NOT CELIACS, AND TEST EVERY 2 YRS SINCE MY DAUGHTER WAS DX WITH CILIAC 4 YEARS AGO. RECENTLY WHEN PREPING TO BE TESTED FOR CELIAC BECAME VERY ILL, AND WAS SURE I WOULD BE POSITIVE FOR THE DX . CAME BACK NEGATIVE. THEN ONE MONTH LATER SO SICK THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE. COLONOSCOPY DONE AND FIRST THEY THOUGHT ULCERATIVE COLITIS THIS WAS ALSO NEGATIVE.THEY PUT ME ON A MOSTLY GLUTEN DIET AND I DID WELL. I ALSO HAVE VITALIGO AND ROSEACHA, ALSO AUTOAMMUNINE. NOW GOING BACK SOON FOR ANOTHER COLONOSCOPY AFTER MEDS TO SEE WHAT POSSIBLY TORR ME APART.SO CONFUSING